Attributed: John Boultbee (1753-1812)

‘Black Hunter with a Pointer’

John Boultbee was an English painter of sporting and especially equestrian subjects. He was born in Leicestershire on 4 June 1753 and died in Liverpool on 30 November 1812. Boultbee was admitted to the Royal Academy School in 1775 soon becoming a pupil of Sir Joshua Reynolds and thus exhibiting in London, from that date.

Boultbee was much admired by King George III, who commissioned him to paint a number of equestrian pictures and provided him with a residence close to Windsor Great Park in order that he may be close to the animals and landscapes with which he worked.

Boultbee studied the work of George Stubbs and was much influenced by him. Later in his life, he returned to the northern counties and died Liverpool in 1812.

This picture closely relates to Boultbee’s work. The composition and detail in this example closely resemble those attributes in works signed by the artist.